The 15 best shops in Saint Germain, Paris and tax refund
Welcome to Saint-Germain, Paris, where style feels quieter, sharper, and more personal. Think gallery windows, café terraces, polished loafers on cobblestones, and boutiques that don’t need to shout to be noticed.
And for non-EU travelers, shopping in Saint Germain, in Paris is also a smart move. The area is compact, walkable, and many stores are used to tax-free shopping, so you can focus on the fun part, not the forms.
This guide is your no-stress plan: a tight shopping route, the addresses worth your suitcase space, and clear VAT refund essentials so you don’t accidentally donate money to France.
And if you’re ready for a more luxury chapter of Parisian shopping, explore our shopping guide of Rue Saint-Honoré.
Key takeaways
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Saint-Germain is one of the best shopping areas in Paris. Start in Sèvres–Babylone (with Le Bon Marché and La Grande Épicerie), then zigzag via Rue du Bac, Rue Bonaparte, and Rue du Four.
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For signature Paris souvenirs, build a mini route around Diptyque, Officine Universelle Buly 1803, and Assouline, then finish with French wine at La Maison des Millésimes or La Dernière Goutte.
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Non-EU tourists can get back up to 15% of their purchases through VAT refund, as long as they follow the right steps and validate at departure.
The 15 best boutiques for shopping in Saint-Germain, Paris
1. Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche
Le Bon Marché is a high-end department store with designer fashion, beauty, jewelry, and home (not a single-brand boutique). You go because it’s the easiest way to browse dozens of French and international labels in one beautiful space, with that calm, Left Bank feeling (no aggressive chaos, just temptation in good lighting).
It is also the best shop when you want to buy “the big piece” (coat, bag, shoes, fragrance) and handle the practicalities in one place.
📍24 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris
2. La Grande Épicerie de Paris (Rive Gauche)
This is a luxury food hall and one of the best places in Paris to shop for giftable French edible treasures. Come for the wine cellar, chocolates, biscuits, preserves, and beautiful boxed sets that look like you planned ahead (even if you didn’t).
If you’re traveling, it is ideal because you can build a unique, local, classy souvenir, and easy to share back home.
📍38 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris
3. Maison Deyrolle
Walking into Deyrolle feels like stepping into a cinematic cabinet of curiosities, part science, part art, entirely unforgettable. You don’t browse here, you wander like you’re exploring a story.
📍46 Rue du Bac, 75007 Paris
4. Poetic in Rock
Poetic in Rock is the kind of interior-design boutique that makes you want to redecorate your entire life with one scented candle and a perfectly imperfect ceramic plate. It is warm, stylish, and curated in a way that feels personal, not showroom-cold.
📍 1 Rue de Saint-Simon, 75007 Paris
5. Marin Montagut
Marin Montagut feels like stepping into a Parisian notebook with its illustrated objects, charming home finds, and whimsical souvenirs that don’t look touristy.
It is very appreciated by travelers because the best buys here are lightweight, packable, and conversation-starting.
📍48 Rue Madame, 75006 Paris
6. Diptyque (historic address)
Located in boulevard Saint-Germain, this is Diptyque’s iconic home, and the address you visit when you want to choose a “Paris scent” with intention.
The shelves are a slow seduction: candles, room scents, perfumes, each one a mood you can bring back. If you want one elegant purchase that instantly upgrades your luggage and your memories, this is it.
📍 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75005 Paris
7. Officine Universelle Buly 1803
Buly is a luxury apothecary-style beauty boutique selling perfumes, body care, combs, and accessories presented like precious artifacts.
You go for gifts that feel intimate, beautiful packaging, tactile products, and that delicious sensation of buying something unique and local. Perfect if you love fragrance and want something that feels more curated than a classic duty-free buy.
📍 6 Rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris
8. La Maison des Millésimes
This is a specialist wine shop on boulevard Saint-Germain for those who want to buy French wine with confidence, not guesswork. If you look for a bottle that feels like a story, a gift-worthy, memorable, and more interesting than the supermarket picks. It’s a great stop if your ideal souvenir is something you’ll open later and instantly taste Paris again.
📍 137 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006 Paris
9. Citypharma
Citypharma is where savvy travelers go to stock up on French skincare and pharmacy favorites at prices that make you feel oddly victorious. You’ll find the best French beauty products (skincare, sunscreen, haircare) and iconic French brands. It can be busy, but the savings can make it worth the energy.
📍26 Rue du Four, 75006 Paris
10. Repetto (St Germain)
Repetto is a French shoe and leather goods boutique known for its ballet heritage. Think about elegant flats, refined shapes, and that Parisian silhouette.
It is one of the easiest ways to buy something classic that you’ll actually wear, not just admire in your closet.
📍 51 Rue du Four, 75006 Paris
11. Assouline
Assouline is a luxury book and lifestyle boutique where you’ll find coffee-table books on fashion, travel, art, and design that feel like décor objects.
You go when you need a gift that is tasteful, high-impact, and very easy to pack. Even browsing feels like a mini Parisian museum moment, calm and quietly glamorous.
📍 35 Rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris
12. MAISON AS by Alexandra Sojfer
This is a more confidential address in Saint-Germain, part boutique, part personal universe, and very “Left Bank” in spirit. If you like finding places that feel less “touristy spot” and more local and confidential, you’ll appreciate the vibe here.
📍 218 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75007 Paris
13. Amin Kader (Boulevard Saint-Germain)
This is Saint-Germain elegance with real substance: a couture house where the silhouettes feel clean, fluid, and quietly powerful. Fabrics are meant to be felt up close, and the tailoring is precise. The kind that changes how you stand the moment you try it on. If you want a French purchase that is crafted, timeless, and genuinely Left Bank, this is a strong stop.
📍189 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75007 Paris
[14. Inédit Joaillier
Inédit is for a jewelry moment that feels personal, not performative. Pieces are crafted with that French attention to detail, refined, luminous, designed to be worn often rather than locked away.
If you want a memory that lives on your hand or neck, this is the kind of boutique that makes choosing feel slow, special, and confident.
📍 14 Rue de l’Abbaye, 75006 Paris
15. La Dernière Goutte (wine shop)
La Dernière Goutte is a famous wine shop in 6th that is great for tourists because it’s approachable: you can ask what to buy, describe what you like, and actually enjoy the conversation.
You discover something delicious for the night, plus a second bottle you’ll be proud to bring home. If you want good French wine without intimidation, this is the kind of place that makes it easy.
📍 6 Rue de Bourbon le Château, 75006 Paris
Where to shop in Saint-Germain by area ?
Saint-Germain is best shopped like a loop, not a straight line. Use these three pockets as your mental map and you’ll always know where to go next.
Sèvres–Babylone: the elegant part for fashion, beauty and gourmet
This should be your starting point. The area around Le Bon Marché and La Grande Épicerie is where Saint-Germain turns polished and indulgent. Come here first if you want to browse multiple categories in one place: fashion, beauty, home, gourmet.
It is also the easiest zone to handle bigger purchases calmly, then pivot straight into gift mode with edible finds (and wine) that travel well.
Rue du Bac & Rue Saint-Simon: curiosities and design with Parisian personality
This stretch feels more intimate than the main avenues: small façades, carefully curated windows, and shops that reward slow browsing.
It’s where Saint-Germain leans into objects with character, design pieces, décor, and collectibles that look intentional rather than mass-produced.
If your shopping list includes gifts with a point of view (and not just a brand name), Rue du Bac and Rue Saint-Simon deliver that distinct Left Bank mix of taste and surprise.
Boulevard Saint-Germain and side streets (Bonaparte, du Four, Madame, Jacob)
Think of Boulevard Saint-Germain as the spine. Stroll it when you want that classic Saint-Germain atmosphere, then peel off into side streets for the best hits.
Rue Bonaparte is where fragrance and Parisian souvenirs feel effortless, while Rue du Four is your practical beauty-and-basics zone (hello, skincare haul).
Rue Madame and Rue Jacob add the boutique fashion and cultured shopping moments, places where you’ll find the piece you keep reaching for back home, plus book and lifestyle stops that feel like refined souvenirs rather than tourist purchases.
Claim VAT back on your shopping in France with Zapptax
As a non-EU tourist, you can get VAT refund on eligible purchases made in France when you leave the EU.
Here is the simplest way to do it with Zapptax
1) Ask for an invoice issued in the name of Zapptax
At checkout, tell the salesperson you need a VAT invoice issued in the name of Zapptax. Say it early, before the receipt is printed, so the staff can set it up correctly the first time
2) Right after each purchase: upload your invoices in the app.
3) Zapptax generates your tax-free form(s).
Once your invoices are in, Zapptax creates the tax-free document(s) for your trip. So you’re not managing different tax-free workflows across multiple stores.
4) When leaving the EU: validate at Customs.
At the airport (or departure point), go to the PABLO kiosk and scan the barcode on your tax-free form to validate. If the kiosk shows green, you’re validated; if it shows red, you’ll need to see a Customs officer.
Keep your purchases accessible, Customs can ask to see them.
Try our VAT Refund Calculator to estimate how much you could get back on your France shopping.
Conclusion
Shopping in Saint-Germain, Paris is elegant without being exhausting and curated without feeling staged.
You can anchor your day at Le Bon Marché, drift through beauty and scent on boulevard Saint-Germain, pick up gifts that look effortlessly expensive, and even add a bottle of French wine that tastes like your trip in one sip.
Do the VAT refund process, validate at departure, and you’ll leave Paris with two souvenirs: a suitcase full of excellent choices and the quiet joy of knowing you didn’t leave taxes behind.
FAQ
1. Is Saint-Germain-des-Prés good for shopping?
Saint-Germain-des-Prés is dense and walkable, with a rare mix of luxury stores (Le Bon Marché, La Grande Épicerie) and smaller boutiques nearby. You can build a full day of fashion, beauty, gifts, and gourmet stops without crossing the city.
2. What are the best streets for shopping around Saint-Germain?
Use boulevard Saint-Germain as your main spine, then peel off into Rue du Bac for distinctive concept stores and Rue Bonaparte, Rue du Four for fragrance and beauty stops. The neighborhood is built for strolling, shopping and drinking on a terrace.
3. What should I buy in Saint-Germain, Paris ?
Fragrance and beauty are easy picks because they’re suitcase-friendly and feel very Paris, especially from iconic addresses in Saint-Germain. Gourmet gifts (wine, chocolate, etc) also work brilliantly here: they’re shareable, photogenic, and make the best souvenirs of Paris.
4. Can non-EU tourists get a VAT refund on shopping in Paris?
If you normally live outside the European Union, you can claim VAT back on eligible goods bought in France that you take with you when you leave the EU. The simplest way is to use the Zapptax app. At checkout, ask the store for a VAT invoice issued in the name of Zapptax, then upload your invoices in the app as you shop. Zapptax generates the tax-free forms for you, and you complete the process by validating at Customs (PABLO kiosk) when you leave the EU.
